courtesy of Russ Lockwood, of MagWeb After 14 years, The Sword and The Flame game rules are back were they belong - in the hands of the original designer, Larry Brom. As of November 5, 1998, all copyrights, remaining 3' edition boxed sets, and any collateral materials are the legal property of, "And that's the Way it Was", an historical, miniature diorama company owned by Lori Brom, the game designer's daughter. In 1984 Yaquito Publication, the original publisher of the rules, sold the rights to Bob Boyle of Greenfield Hobby Distributors without the knowledge of the designer. Bromwhom, had he known, would have purchased the rights himself In the ensuing years Brom, who reluctantly furnished. some charts, rosters and rules variants for the 1984 Pt revision by Greenfield, had to be content, but not at all pleased, to see the rules unnecessarily tinkered with (why are French & Indian, Foreign Legion, and Boxer Rebellion variants included is a rule set for the conduct of battles of the British Empire?) and badly marketed. The supreme satisfaction once the release of the rules in 1979, however, has been the undying enthusiasm, devotion to fun, and acceptance of Brom's game concepts by the multitude of gamers who for 20 years have kept the "Flame" burning and made colonial Wargamming a viable aspect of out grand hobby. When released, TSATF was the first published set of game rules to utilize: 1. Variable move distances 2. Random movement and firing sequences 3. Specific casualty determination (dead, wounded, leaders, etc.). All this was accomplished using a standard deck of playing cards. The designer had devised intense personal satisfaction in the quote, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", as through the years he has seen rule-set after rule-set present these basic concepts in many imaginative, clever, and creative variations. Time moves on, however, and now with TSAFT back in it's own barracks perhaps it's time to consider whether that basic, successful, innovative game concept is ready to expand perhaps to battalion level to utilize the hordes of Colonial figures that out-ofcontrol enthusiasts have stacked up in game rooms around the country. It remains to, be seen ........... In the meantime, sincere thanks and warm regards must go to all The Sword and The Flame devotees and, to paraphrase Rudyard Kipling's To Thomas Atkins, "0 there'll surely come a day When they'll give you all your pay And treat you as a Christian ought to do: So until that day comes around, Heaven keep you safe and sound, And Gamers, here's my best respects to you." Back to White Knight #12 Table of Contents Back to White Knight List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Pegasus-Unicorn Productions This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com